jim stinehart wrote: >>> On the b-hebrew list, the best way to check out claims of the prominence of oak trees in Biblical times is to examine Biblical toponyms. >>> The Aijalon Valley has three villages whose names refer to “oak trees”: I Samuel 10: 3, Joshua 19: 43, and I Kings 4: 9. [It is less clear whether the name of the famous Aijalon refers to oak trees.....
jim, toponyms have the interesting quality that mostly their etymology is in debate. often it had been coined in a different language or dialect. i am not sure that "oak" is the only interpretation for ayalon, elah etc. besides, a single hugh oak tree on a crossroad might have lent its name to the whole valley. sometimes a foreign name gets misinterpreted. i could build a whole theory of a valley full of gazelles, for example (AYALAH). in this case, maybe i would locate it in ... ein gedi. there, abraham could entertain his guests, then watch from the window to see sdom and amorah, see the boiling water and steam on the lake, hear the earth shaking and then hurry to save lot in the same day!!! rather than (100 yeasrs old!) ride a donkey for miles from a distant valley where (even assuming good visibility and perfect eyesight) he could not have really seen anything but a distant spot on the horizon. i do not say your theory is incorrect. but you should look for corroborating evidence outside the text, instead of simply ignoring it and repeating the same old arguments. nir cohen _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
